Well, folks, we did it — we finally found the World’s Most Honest Soccer Player, and his name is Aaron Hunt. The midfielder for Werder Bremen (Bundesliga) tripped during a match against Nuremberg on Saturday, after which the referee whistled the defender for a penalty. While the defender protested the call, Hunt calmly walked over and told the referee that he hadn’t been tripped (video replay shows his foot got caught in the turf). The referee nixed the call and ordered a ball drop, which was a much better proposition for Nuremberg, as the now non-existent penalty had occurred inside the 18-yard box.
What makes the act of sportsmanship even more impressive is that it happened in a key match for Werder Bremen. Their eventual 2-0 win landed them a much-needed six points in the standings, bumping their cushion from the relegation zone to eight points overall.
Next up: finding an NBA player who owns up to a flop, in the moment. We’re not holding our breath.
[Reddit]
